Freethinker: : one that forms opinions on the basis of reason independently of authority; especially : one who doubts or denies religious dogma
By all means let's be open-minded,
but not so open-minded that our brains drop out.Richard Dawkins, in "Science, Delusion and the Appetite for Wonder,"

Tuesday, February 27, 2007

Lost tomb of Jesus, or money-making hoax?

Considering the way that the media and filmakers take advantage of the gullible, the skeptic in me wonders if this is just a money-making hoax, but I am willing to watch and find out what it's all about. However, many (if not most) Christians are too afraid to even consider any evidence that is being presented for consideration in this upcoming documentary because it might just shake the foundations of their faith. Most Christians would resist any information that was found because they want to believe in an afterlife so badly it doesn't matter what evidence anyone would dig up.

JERUSALEM - Archaeologists and clergymen in the Holy Land derided claims in a new documentary produced by James Cameron that contradict major Christian tenets, but the Oscar-winning director said the evidence was based on sound statistics.

"The Lost Tomb of Christ,"which the Discovery Channel will run on March 4, argues that 10 ancient ossuaries — small caskets used to store bones — discovered in a suburb of Jerusalem in 1980 may have contained the bones of Jesus and his family, according to a press release issued by the Discovery Channel.

One of the caskets even bears the title, "Judah, son of Jesus," hinting that Jesus may have had a son. And the very fact that Jesus had an ossuary would contradict the Christian belief that he was resurrected and ascended to heaven.

Cameron told NBC'S TODAY show that statisticians found "in the range of a couple of million to one in favor of it being them." Simcha Jacobovici, the Toronto filmmaker who directed the documentary, said the implications "are huge."

"But they're not necessarily the implications people think they are. For example, some believers are going to say, well, this challenges the resurrection. I don't know why, if Jesus rose from one tomb, he couldn't have risen from the other tomb," Jacobovici told TODAY.Link to full story.

The last comment by Jacobovici is an example of how any evidence would be looked upon...in immediate and persistant denial.

9 comments:

It sounds like a bunch of BS to me. I watched the Exodus Decoded program on the History Channel some months ago.

They end up claiming that the plagues that afflicted Egypt were caused by the volcanic eruption at Santorini around 1500 BCE. All I could think was, "Gee, God wants to free the Israelites from the Egyptians, so he has a volcano erupt in the Mediterranean which has the effect of wiping out the Minoans who had nothing to do with the enslavement of the Israelites just so that Egypt can be inflicted by plagues. For a supreme being, Yahweh sure can't aim for shit.

Furthermore, if Egypt really suffered the calamities mentioned in Exodus, it would have gone into instant decline without likelihood of recovery for decades. Believers in the Exodus story have to show that Egyptian power went into noticeable decline around the time of the Exodus. To my knowledge, they have not. While I am not an expert on Egyptian history, the Egyptians ruled the area of Israel until around 1050 - 1100 BCE, many decades after the reign of Rameses II, who is popularly considered to be the pharaoh of the Exodus story, and 500 years after the reign of Ahmose, whom Jacobovici fingers as the Exodus pharaoh.

I lost a lot of respect for James Cameron for his involvement with the Exodus Decoded, and this latest venture just confirms it.

It's looking more & more like a hoax.While it'll be fun to watch the xtians rush about shrieking, what really needs to be done is some hard-hitting documentaries that show all this crap for what it is. Too many charlatans are playing the field.Tommy:For a supreme being, Yahweh sure can't aim for shit.True dat.

They won't be able to prove it wither way. So the christians who want it to be jesus' bones will carry on like pork chops about how jesus is real and here are his bones. And the christians who believe that jesus rose in the body to heaven, will be saying that it is a fake. Either way, it will keep the theists blabbing for a long time.

I couldn't help but wonder how they would ID the bones as definitely belonging to who they say they do. It's not like they can test them for holy DNA....

cyberkitten, I read that they weren't testing for DNA to prove Jesus's existence, but to find out if the remains they found were related to each other or not. It still would not be enough evidence to prove anything one way or the other.

Stardust, I believe you're correct in your assumptions about "most Christians". I think that most don't know nearly enough about the things they should and they walk around with their goody-goody, do-no-wrong, attitudes and think its their job to purge the sin out of society. They run around with blinders on, shoving Jesus down people's throats, buying Jesus junk, and sitting on a pedestal saying, "Thank God I'm loved by Jesus" and they're clueless.

I know that tomb was found sometime in the 80's and it seems that with the herds of sheep at Dan Brown's feet, this is just another exploitation of the gullible.

I'll watch it though, to see what they have to say.

To me, it doesn't matter what they've found, it won't shake the foundation of my faith. My faith doesn't exist in a tomb or a book or in DNA or tangible items. Yes, I believe the invisible daddy exists--I'm not here to debate that. I accept your beliefs and what I like about this blog is you are willing to look at things with an open eye. When I was atheist, I didn't even want to hear Jesus' name.

I accept your beliefs and what I like about this blog is you are willing to look at things with an open eye. When I was atheist, I didn't even want to hear Jesus' name.

Michelle, I appreciate that. I was a Christian for more than 30 years before leaving all that behind. Studying world religions and mythology made me realize just how many religions humans have invented over the centuries. I find it interesting. Humans are quite creative. :-)

I know that tomb was found sometime in the 80's and it seems that with the herds of sheep at Dan Brown's feet, this is just another exploitation of the gullible.

This is true. Like all the sheeple who flocked to see Mel Gibson's movie and buying all the books and tapes afterwards, making Mel baby all the richer. Sure he gives some to charity, but not much in comparison with how rich HE has gotten. He was an aging actor who found a "niche" to redeem himself, and Hollywood found a whole new group of suckers to market to using religion to make themselves richer.

I would not pay to go see this "Lost Tomb of Christ" but since it's free on television, I will see what it is all about. If it is too far-out, I can always change the channel. :-)

About Me

I love to write, read, paint, draw, take photos, listen to music, travel, and stargaze. If I could live my life over again I would be an astronomer.
“Sometimes I think we're alone in the universe, and sometimes I think we're not. In either case the idea is quite staggering.
Arthur C. Clarke